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combination

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combination


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Combination  \Com`bi*na"tion\,  n.  [LL.  combinatio.  See 
  {Combine}.] 
  1.  The  act  or  process  of  combining  or  uniting  persons  and 
  things 
 
  Making  new  compounds  by  new  combinations.  --Boyle. 
 
  A  solemn  combination  shall  be  made  Of  our  dear 
  souls.  --Shak. 
 
  2.  The  result  of  combining  or  uniting;  union  of  persons  or 
  things  esp.  a  union  or  alliance  of  persons  or  states  to 
  effect  some  purpose;  --  usually  in  a  bad  sense 
 
  A  combination  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  Rome  who 
  had  conspired  my  ruin.  --Melmoth. 
 
  3.  (Chem.)  The  act  or  process  of  uniting  by  chemical 
  affinity,  by  which  substances  unite  with  each  other  in 
  definite  proportions  by  weight  to  form  distinct  compounds. 
 
  4.  pl  (Math.)  The  different  arrangements  of  a  number  of 
  objects,  as  letters,  into  groups. 
 
  Note:  In  combinations  no  regard  is  paid  to  the  order  in  which 
  the  objects  are  arranged  in  each  group  while  in 
  variations  and  permutations  this  order  is  respected. 
  --Brande  &  C. 
 
  {Combination  car},  a  railroad  car  containing  two  or  more 
  compartments  used  for  different  purposes.  [U.  S.] 
 
  {Combination  lock},  a  lock  in  which  the  mechanism  is 
  controlled  by  means  of  a  movable  dial  (sometimes  by 
  several  dials  or  rings)  inscribed  with  letters  or  other 
  characters.  The  bolt  of  the  lock  can  not  be  operated  until 
  after  the  dial  has  been  so  turned  as  to  combine  the 
  characters  in  a  certain  order  or  succession. 
 
  {Combination  room},  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  Eng.,  a 
  room  into  which  the  fellows  withdraw  after  dinner,  for 
  wine,  dessert,  and  conversation. 
 
  {Combination  by  volume}  (Chem.),  the  act  process,  or  ratio 
  by  which  gaseous  elements  and  compounds  unite  in  definite 
  proportions  by  volume  to  form  distinct  compounds. 
 
  {Combination  by  weight}  (Chem.),  the  act  process,  or  ratio, 
  in  which  substances  unite  in  proportions  by  weight, 
  relatively  fixed  and  exact,  to  form  distinct  compounds. 
  See  {Law  of  definite  proportions},  under  {Definite}. 
 
  Syn:  Cabal;  alliance;  association;  league;  union; 
  confederacy;  coalition;  conspiracy.  See  {Cabal}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  combination 
  n  1:  a  collection  of  things  that  have  been  combined;  an 
  assemblage  of  separate  parts  or  qualities 
  2:  an  occurrence  that  results  in  things  being  combined  [syn:  {combining}, 
  {combine}] 
  3:  a  sequence  of  numbers  or  letters  that  opens  a  combination 
  lock;  "he  forgot  the  combination  to  the  safe" 
  4:  a  group  of  people  (often  temporary)  having  a  common  purpose; 
  "they  were  a  winning  combination" 
  5:  an  alliance  of  people  or  corporations  or  countries  for  a 
  special  purpose  (formerly  to  achieve  some  antisocial  end 
  but  now  for  general  political  or  economic  purposes) 
  6:  the  act  of  arranging  elements  into  specified  groups  without 
  regard  to  order 
  7:  the  act  of  combining  things  [syn:  {combining},  {compounding}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  combination 
 
  1.    A  {set}  containing  a  certain  number  of 
  objects  selected  from  another  set 
 
  The  number  of  combinations  of  r  objects  chosen  from  a  set  of  n 
  is 
 
  n  C  r  =  n!  /  ((n-r)!  r!) 
 
  where  "n  C  r"  is  normally  with  n  and  r  as  subscripts  or  as  n 
  above  r  in  parentheses. 
 
  See  also  {permutation}. 
 
  2.    In  the  theory  of  {combinator}s,  a  combination 
  denotes  an  expression  in  which  {function  application}  is  the 
  only  operation. 
 
  (1995-04-10) 
 
 




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